


Lost in the Darkness

by Sikith (Xavier2163)



Category: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2018-01-15 11:39:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1303561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xavier2163/pseuds/Sikith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sikith’s journey from childhood into slavery, rising through the ranks to achieve eventual freedom and her journeys as a Dark Lord of the Sith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost in the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or the Old Republic setting. All rights to original characters and story settings reserved to the original creator, Sikith. 12/19/13
> 
> Title: Lost in the Darkness – Sikith’s Story
> 
> Rating: M for graphic violence, cruelty, sexual situations, possibly lemons, drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.
> 
> Universe: Star Wars the Old Republic Era
> 
> – – – –  
> Author Notes:  
> Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you’d prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.  
> – – – – – – – – – – –

Chapter 1 Coruscant

The plan was very simple to ten year old Sikith. She’d known what an itinerary was for as long as she could remember. It was the plan for the places they were going to visit, when they were supposed to be there, how they were getting there and how long they’d stay before going to the next place on the itinerary. She didn’t really know what a diplomatic attaché to the Senate was, she just knew that was what daddy did and it meant they travelled a lot. They had a farm on Auberine, but they didn’t stay there very much. They travelled most of the time, spending a few months or more on each of the planets they visited. She could remember visiting Coruscant a handful of times in her young life, although she preferred the open spaces of the rural agrarian worlds like Auberine over worlds that were covered with city as far as the eye could see.

Her family was visiting Coruscant this time because the Jedi Council was pestering her father about her brother again. They wanted her parents to send her brother to the Jedi Temple for training, but her parents were resisting. She hated the Jedi and their meddling ways, but even she realized that was probably an attitude she’d picked up from listening to her parents complain about how they wanted to take Kuthela away and send him to the temple.

She didn't want the Jedi to take her brother away. She loved Kuthela and she didn’t want the Jedi to break up her family. She’d heard stories about that, how the Jedi brainwashed the children that they forced to join their cult to give up every tie to their family. They thought forsaking their emotional ties to family and loved ones made them stronger warriors if they had nobody they cared about in the world to lose. Perhaps she was being selfish, but she didn't want Kuthela to forget her and break his ties to her for the greater good of the Republic. She was ten, and self-sacrifice was not a part of her nature.

It was Kuthela who had started calling her Sikith. Her parents had hated it at first, but what did they expect when they named her Sidne Kithrine? Of course her brother was going to come up with a nickname for her. Eventually the name stuck, and even her mother called her Sikith now.

Their itinerary had them dropping Kuthela off at the Jedi temple for another round of testing before they picked him up again this evening when they went out to dinner. The Jedi had been watching her family for decades, and now they were trying to get their hooks into her brother. Her grandfather had been a Jedi Master before he took an extended leave of absence to raise a family. The Jedi looked down on romantic involvements and relationships, but that was just crazy when you took into account the fact that they were humans. Humans fell in love and formed relationships. That was as much biological as it was desire or emotion. When her grandfather had met her grandmother, he knew he was in love and had petitioned to leave the order to marry her. 

Sikith considered her grandfather’s romance to be an amazing love story, not the downfall and disgrace of a prominent Jedi Master. Love and family were more important than leaving all of your emotional connections behind, but the Jedi kept testing all them for force sensitivity. Her mother had failed the tests and she’d been left in peace to raise a family, but now they wanted her brother to join their cult.

She’d told Kuthela to just fail the tests. She might be ten, but even she knew that if she didn't pass their stupid tests that they’d leave her alone to live her life in peace. So what if her midi-chlorian count was at the top of the charts, if she failed the tests, they couldn't prove she was force sensitive. Kuthela was just too honest for his own good sometimes, though. He couldn't lie at all, and he didn't have the first clue about how to manipulate people to get his way. It was his honesty, forthrightness and uncompromising loyalty that she loved about her brother, but it was going to end up getting him into trouble. 

Even at the age of ten, she knew that sometimes you had to lie to get what you wanted. It was simply how the world worked, and sometimes you just had to do what you had to do. Take the current situation, for instance. All he had to do was fail the tests like she had and the Jedi would leave him alone. It didn't matter if your grandfather was a Jedi Master or if you had a high midi-chlorian count if you still failed the force sensitivity tests.

Of course, though, she knew that wasn't entirely true either. She could sense Master Baran’s distrust and apprehension in her presence. He’d felt relief when she’d failed the tests, as though he was somehow glad that he wouldn’t have to take her back to the Jedi Temple for training. That was fine with her, she didn't want to be a Jedi, although she envied the power they held over the Republic and the way that even the Senators listened to them and did what they were told.

Kuthela though was everything that the Jedi Order was looking for in a Padawan. It was only out of respect for his parent’s wishes that he continued to resist the Jedi Order, that and the fact that Sikith was his best friend in the world, despite being his sister. They were close because they were usually the only kids in the places that they traveled to, or at least the only human kids. They relied on each other and were each other’s best friends because they were all each other had in the universe, most of the time, besides their parents. 

Her grandfather was still alive, and they’d visited with him briefly at the Jedi Temple, but he’d returned to the Jedi Order after her grandmother was killed in a speeder accident. She could feel his love for all of them, but he attempted to suppress it out of respect for his vows to the Order. She simply couldn't respect an organization that would insist upon that sacrifice from its adherents. She could understand suppressing negative emotions, but suppressing good emotions was like throwing the baby out with the bath water to her way of thinking.

Regardless, she had to trust her brother to not be an idiot or he’d likely be staying on Coruscant this time, at least until the Jedi Council shipped him off to some obscure monastery on some forsaken world on the outer rim to meditate his life away. 

She sat staring out the window of the speeder from the backseat as they crossed the endless cityscape on their way to the Senate. Next stop was to drop daddy off for his meetings. Then Sikith and her mom would spend the day exploring a couple of museums around the Capital and possibly do a little shopping until it was time to pick everybody up.

Suddenly she was shaken out of her reverie by a series of actinic flashes of light instantly followed by blossoms of dark smoke and the report of a sharp explosion like distant thunder, arriving late with a noticeable delay from the flash of explosions.

The speeder jolted and jerked beneath her as she was thrown briefly against the window.

“What’s happening?!” Her mother cried, sounding frantic.

“The grid’s offline…! The autopilot just stopped working!” Her father said as he grabbed the controls.

“The grid is down? How could that happen? There are redundant systems and backups on the backups!”

Sikith didn’t really understand, but her mother knew about those kinds of things. She worked on stuff like that for her job. She watched out the window as the speeder careened wildly out of control and realized that the bright lights and smoke were other speeders like theirs colliding and exploding before they crashed down into the buildings beneath them.

That was a startlingly scary realization for Sikith. She’d always trusted speeders without a second thought to how they worked or flew through the air to get from point A to point B. You just got in and told the speeder where you were going and they simply worked. They weren’t dangerous and they certainly weren’t supposed to crash or fall out of the sky…

“I’m taking manual control,” her father said as the speeder leveled off and started flying straight again.

“Just set us down until we find out what’s going on,” her mother said…

Her comment was cut short by a more massive explosion. Luckily she was looking away, or the flash of light may have been the last thing she ever saw with organic eyes. She was thrown across the compartment by the shock wave as she hit the cushions on the seat.

It took a second to gather her wits, and then she looked out the window. The enormous pillar of smoke and debris was growing out of the fire and destruction of the massive blast. It was still rising into the upper atmosphere as it curved in on itself like a malevolent mushroom suddenly sprouting where countless thousands of people had once lived. She could feel their souls cry out as their lives were suddenly extinguished and cut short creating a sudden void that reverberated as a tremor in the force with their loss.

The high pitched whine of powerful ion engines zipped past the speeder, suddenly growing louder, and flashing past as the Doppler effect of their passage caused the engine noise to fade into the distance.

She felt like she was suddenly trapped in one of the adventure holovid dramas she wasn't allowed to watch on the holo terminal, but sneaked a peak whenever she could… She knew she was hearing blaster fire, but she’d never ever heard it for real before, and she certainly had never ever expected to ever hear it for real. 

That was something special effects wizards programmed for holovid dramas…

They were on Coruscant! This was the Capitol of the Republic!

Why were there explosions and mushroom clouds and fighters and blaster fire in the heart of the Republic Capitol?!

“By the Force… Those are Imperial fighters!” Her father exclaimed.

“Those are Sith markings,” her mother commented, remaining calm. “Set us down before they shoot us down. We need to find the Republic forces and get to a safe zone. They can’t control the whole planet yet…”

The next several hours began a descent into the horrors of war and an introduction to darkness that Sikith was likely never to emerge from.

Her father dropped the speeder down between the buildings and it was a harrowing experience knowing he was flying the speeder manually, not the central traffic computer. They tried to find republic forces, but every group of soldiers they got close to shot at them. The droids were even worse and she knew when they flew to close to the artillery droids. Finally they were forced to land. The speeder was too damaged from blaster fire to go on, and if they went up above the buildings, the Imperial fighters were shooting down anything that was left in the air.

She could feel her parent’s apprehension and fear, despite the fact that they put on a brave front for her and tried not to show their fear.

For a ten year old, she understood how desperate their situation was and she didn't whimper or cry. She tried to remain stoic and followed her parents lead. She tried to offer advice, but she was ten and they wouldn't listen to her. There was no reason she should know what was going to happen. She wasn't supposed to be force sensitive; she’d failed the tests…

Of course she’d failed the tests on purpose. She knew the soldiers around the corner were Imperials, but her mother held her back and hushed her while her father looked…

She knew that they’d seen him…

Running was pointless, but they couldn’t fight, her parents had no military training, her father was a diplomat and her mother was a programmer. They had to run because being captured was not an alternative they could consciously consider. The shop was a mistake. There was no way out and only the one door they’d come through… They had no weapons and there were eight soldiers…

*~`*`~*

Flies seemed to inhabit every world humans lived on. Maybe they were a necessary part of the ecosystem and served a necessary purpose. All she knew was she hated flies. 

She hated the fly that landed on her father’s lifeless staring eyeball and then casually rubbed its legs together as it enjoyed its feast.

Death stunk like iron and copper and shit as the lifeless body lay at an odd angle and all the involuntary muscles relaxed allowing the corpse to void the contents of bladder and bowels. Death was red and sticky and there was so much of it…

She focused on the carbon encrusting the periphery of the burn hole between her father’s eyes. It was small and round on the front side of his head that she could see, but he’d been shot in the face. She knew the back of his head was blown off, but she couldn’t see it the way she lying trussed on the floor. The soldiers had complimented themselves on a perfect shot and had described it in rather gruesome and startling detail.

When she couldn't look anymore, she focused on the plastic tie restraint and how it was slowly cutting into the skin of her ankles and her wrists behind her back.

She’d tried to block out the pain at first, but focusing on the pain and her father lying dead in a heap helped her to block out her mother’s screams…

She knew what they were doing to her mother… 

She didn't want to think about it, but she was ten and she’d already had that talk. She knew what they were doing was wrong and a vile abomination and she seethed with anger at the violation. There were eight of them and they were taking turns…

She felt helpless and powerless and she burned with rage and disgust and the desire to strike out and destroy and stop them… She wanted to hurt them as bad as they were hurting her mother, but she was a child… She was tied up and helpless and at their mercy. Mercy that was in extremely short supply today…

Suddenly the screaming stopped…

She turned her head just in time to see the trooper’s hands on her mother’s throat…

There was a gurgling sound, and then a snap like a green stick breaking. She saw the horror in her mother’s eyes and felt her join with the force as the essence left her body…

Her mind went away a bit as the room turned red and a profound fury she had never experienced before consumed her tiny body…

“Goddamn it, Henrik! It was my turn next!” One of the troopers yelled at the man who’d just murdered her mother.

He stood up and nonchalantly fixed his pants and adjusted his armor like he'd just relieved himself and was returning from the privy. 

“You had your turn, Allen. We were done with the slut. Besides, there’s a whole planet full of Republic bitches here that need to be taught that the Empire means business this time. Do the little one, then we don’t need to haul her ass back to the drop off.”

One of the other troopers spoke up. “The scan says she special. The orders were specific. Any kids that test positive go to the collection point…”

“Shut the fuck up, Simas, you sniveling little kiss ass! Her old man was a diplomat, and they’re all kill on sight. Her mom was one sweet lay until Henrik fucked that up. Besides, nits make lice. No way is she ever going to serve the Empire after this…”

The trooper, Allen she supposed, turned toward Sikith as he started to open his pants…

She wasn't shocked by what she saw. She’s seen enough of what happened to her mother to be familiar with the male form by now.

She was too consumed by rage and pure unbridled fury to really care or react.

She was not frantic or rabid as she defended herself. The fury and rage seemed to flow through her and elicited an unnatural calm and clarity that she had never experienced before. She felt the force coursing through her and her outrage gave her power… more power than she had ever experienced before. She channeled her fear and rage and fury and used it…

The soldier, Allen, was reaching for her.

She would not allow him to touch her…

She felt the electricity crackle across her skin. It was a prickly sensation like pinpricks of ice dancing down her spine…

The pain in her wrists disappeared as the plastic melted, stretched and fell away.

Her hands were free and she held them out in front of her.

The soldier laughed, thinking she was trying to ward him off. “So you got free, little one. I probably would have cut you lose anyhow. Let’s have a bit of fun before you go with mommy…”

She knew he meant to kill her. It was only obvious, considering her parents were lying dead before her.

“You first!” Sikith said with ice dripping off her voice.

The power coursed through her fingertips…

She wasn't shocked by the lightning that arced between her and the soldier. 

His back arched and he was wracked in a rictus of agony as his eyes bulged and the thing between his legs blackened and shriveled.

Allen dropped to the ground, twitching and jerking, and then voided as his heart stopped and the essence left his smoking body and became one with the force.

Sikith collapsed where she lay, spent and panting from the unnatural exertion, she had channeled the force as it flowed through her body, but it had drained her as much as it had reacted to her control.

The rest of the squad was snatching up weapons once they realized what had happened.

“She killed Allen!” One of the troopers yelled.

“Get her!” “Finish her off.” “Is she Jedi?!” “She doesn't look like a Padawan…!”

All of the weapons were aimed at her, but she was too weak to care or defend herself. She heard them powering up and she knew she was going to die… She was too weak to care now… She didn't exactly welcome death, but at least it would be over quick. At least she’d gotten a portion of revenge and she wouldn't die like her mother had…

“That will be quite enough, Sergeant!” A voice with an Imperial accent and a tone of command said. It was the voice of somebody who expected to be obeyed without question.

The man was tall and regal in bearing. He wore robes like a Jedi, but they were like no Jedi robes Sikith had ever seen. They were more ornate and almost gaudy from the rich silks and fine, expensive fabric. He was armed with a light saber like a Jedi, but she could feel his power. It was darker and more enticing and attractive than any Jedi she’d ever been near to before. His dark power called to her and she knew this was the same power she had channeled to kill the soldier.

The soldier he’d addressed snapped to attention. “Yes Sir, my Lord, Sir.”

The rest of the squad lowered their weapons and snapped to attention with their Sergeant.

“I trust you are aware of the special order that said that any children testing positive on the scanners you were issued were to be brought to the collection point for this region…?”

“Yes Sir, my Lord, Sir.”

“And yet you saw fit to kill this child?”

“She killed Allen, my Lord… We’re supposed to defend ourselves…”

“Considering what he was about to do, she was justified to kill him. She saved me from having to do it myself and confirmed that she is indeed quite special. Now that you've had your fill of sport, it’s time to do your job. Take the child to the collection station and report what happened.”

“Yes Sir, my Lord, Sir.”

“And sergeant, if anything happens to her… so much as the tiniest scratch, I’ll know and I’ll deal with your inability to follow orders personally.”

“Yes Sir, my Lord, Sir.” The trooper paled visibly and seemed shaken, obviously dreading incurring the wrath of this man who obviously commanded the fear and respect of the troopers.

Sikith managed enough strength to turn to the man who had saved her and speak. “Who are you…? What are you…? You’re not Jedi…”

“No child. I am not Jedi. I am Darth Atreus. I am a Dark Lord of the Sith, and should you prove able and have the strength to survive, one day you may stand at my side and serve the Empire.”


End file.
